Container for lunch kits



ly 1 1943- w. w. GONDER ET AL ,381

CONTAINER FOR LUNCH KITS Filed Jan. 10, 1941 INVENTORS Patented July 13, 1943 CONTAINER LUNCH KITS Warren W. Gonder, Washington, D. (3., and Robert 0. Gender, Sheridan, Wye.

Application January 10, 1941, Serial No. 373,860.

3 Claims. 1(Cl. 2064) This invention relates to a combination container for liquids and foods. The vessel is closed and kept closed by means of a spoon made of some suitably resilient material in unitary arrangement with the container and its convexed lid through catches on the outer periphery of the container for releasably engaging the depressed ends of the spoon as resiliently bent down over the convexed lid, and thus this spoon-catch arrangement compressibly retains the lid on the container. As will be seen from the specifications, the particular arrangement of the spooncatch is subject to many variations. It is our object to provide an unusually complete, and compact lunch bucket container, adapted to be removably fitted within standard lunch kits and so arranged that the spoon which is used as an eating implement as well as a retaining lever will not be forgotten. This feature of the container unit will avoid the repeated inconvenience of a forgotten spoon previously suffered by the general public and particularly manual laborers, who use lunch pails and containers. The improvement herein described saves space, and is of compact and pleasing design, particularly adapted to fit in the rectangular oval-shaped bucket in current demand.

The object of our invention is to provide a closed container unit for lunch buckets useful in carrying liquids and foods, notably salads, desserts, vegetables, soup and the like. Such unit is closed and kept securely locked by a properly designed spoon, or other locking element of resilient material as bent down over the convexed, or centrally bulged or raised lid of the unit, and releasably secured at its ends to opposite sides of the container. The spoon may be jointed, bendable, or of the conventional type but in any case is fashioned, positioned and arranged to snugly fit catches or connections of the container and by pressure retain the lid thereon.

Further objects of the invention will become apparent as the specification proceeds in connection with the appended drawing. in which:

Figure 1 is an end elevation of the container in closed position, showing the handle of the spoon in place,

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the opposite end of the closed container showing the spoon in place,

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the closed container, with spoon in place,

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic representation of the spoon, and

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the spoon.

With reference to the drawing, wherein like reference characters have been employed to designate like parts throughout Figures 1 to 5 inelusive, and in Figures 6 and 7 the numeral l designates the body of the container, which-is covered by a convexed or raised lid '3. Thelid 2 fits on the container I being seated into a fianget which holds the edge of the lid snugly in a firm position. The spoon 3 is made of spring steel or similar resilient material which will bend easily and still spring back to a straight positionwhen released from pressure. After the lid 2 has been placed on the container I the spoon 3 is placed in such position that the concave portion of the bowl 4 faces the end of the containershown in Figure 2. The spoon is then slid upward until the curved margins of the base of the bowl 4 fits beneath the depending and raised and inwardly overlying flanges 1, said flanges being incurved as shown, conformably with the margins of the spoon. The handle of the spoon 3 is thereupon bent over the center portion of the lid 2 and the end of the spoon 5 is placed beneath the catch 6. The spring quality of the spoon holds the spoon in the catch and holds the lid on the container until the end of the spoon 5 is pressed downward and released from the flange 6. The narrowing taper of the handle or spoon end 5 as shown, enables this end to be passed beneath the flanged catches, or released therefrom, by merely pressing the end downward, to a narrower portion of said end 5.

A variety of styles, shapes and forms of the container may be successfully employed to accomplish our purpose, and although we have shown and described only certain specific embodiments of the invention, we are aware that many modifications are possible. The catches for the spoon may be either at the top or the sides of the receptacle and the spoon may be either jointed or straight. It may pass straight across the center of the top of the container or may be passed diagonally across the lid thereof. It is obvious that in lieu of a resilient spoon, any other elongate and resilient locking element may be employed. Our invention therefore is not to be restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and the spirit of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what We claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the kind described, a container, a lid for the container having a raised portion thereon, an integrally formed, elongated and resilient locking element of spoon-like shape and including at one end a flat and inwardly tapered portion and at the opposite end a laterally spread, oblong portion having its major axis aligned with the longitudinal aXis of the locking element as a whole, the said locking element being adapted to bend down over the lid and the raised portion thereof as mounted on the container and partially down over the opposite sides of the container, a pair of laterally spaced and inwardly flanged catches on each of the said opposite sides of the container, the catches at one side being formed and arranged complementally to the inner margins of the oblong end of the locking element and adapted to engage the same by slidably passing this end of the locking element upwardly between the catches, and the catches at the opposite side being formed and arranged complementally to the margins of the tapered portion of the opposite end of the looking element and adapted to engage the same by 'sl'idably passing this end of the locking element upwardly between said catches, the locking element being long enough to allow a sufiicient clearance for the described operation and the resiliency of the locking element serving to draw the two ends thereof securely up within the catches at each side.

2. In a device of the kind described for releasably securing the lid of a container in place thereon, a pair of laterally spaced catches on each of the opposite sides of the container below the lid thereof, the catches at each side being undercut along their inner margins to provide upraised and inwardly directed flanges, and being inclined angularly towards one another at their upper ends to provide upwardly tapered slideways therein between, and an integrally formed, flat, elongate and resilient locking element formed with relatively widened and inwardly tapered end portions adapted to slide upwardly between the said spaced catches at each side of the container, the locking element being just long enough to provide a clearance at its ends for inserting these ends into the catches, the resiliency of the looking element serving to draw the ends thereof snugly up within the catches at each side.

3. In a device of the kind described for releasably securing the lid of a container in closed relation thereon, a pair of laterally spaced catches on each of two opposite sides of the container and below the lid as closed thereon, the catches at each side having undercut and inwardly turned margins to provide upraised and inwardly directed flanges for each pair of catches, the parts of each pair of catches being angularly inclined towards one another at their upper ends to form upwardly tapered slide-ways therein between, and an integrally formed, elongate and resilient locking element, formed with relatively widened and inwardly tapered end portions adapted to slide upwardly between the said spaced catches at each side of the container and to be releasably held therein by the said raised flanges, the locking element being of sufiicient length to provide a clearance by slippage at its ends for inserting these ends into the catches, or for releasing same therefrom, the resiliency of the locking element serving to hold the ends thereof within the catches at each side of the container.

WARREN W. GONDER. ROBERT C. GONDER. 

